Spire (NYSE:SR) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spire (NYSE:SR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Spire in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Stock Up 1.6 %

SR opened at $72.39 on Thursday. Spire has a 1-year low of $56.99 and a 1-year high of $73.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.95 and a 200-day moving average of $66.98.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 8.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Spire will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.785 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. This represents a 70.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer now owns 2,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Spire

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Spire by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,154,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $214,535,000 after purchasing an additional 44,969 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Spire by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Spire by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 834,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,614,000 after purchasing an additional 28,715 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Spire by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 778,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,802,000 after purchasing an additional 106,386 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Spire by 0.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 646,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.